Posts Tagged ‘Korean hostages’

Passive aggression can be a dangerous thing. The good people of the church appear to be quiet and peaceful, on the surface. In practice, however, they are aggressively expansionist. They want to spread the word, spread the faith, and convert the heathen. One of their favourite methods of doing so is under the guise of Christian charity or aid.

Conditional charity is not uncommon. Asking recipients to pray or attend a service in return for food or other assistance happens, as I’ve mentioned before. This can lead to international incidents with consequences. A while back, a group of South Korean missionaries were taken hostage in Afghanistan. One was executed, I believe. Their government negotiated the release of the rest, eventually, no doubt after paying a hefty ransom.

There is a debate going on in South Korea about this incident. What the western media didn’t seem interested in reporting is that these missionaries weren’t just helping people, they were trying to convert them and spread Christianity. Should the government be responsible for them? Should they bail them out and pay taxpayers’ money to save them from a situation they got themselves into? Why should the country pay for their aggression and mistakes?

South Korea has the second highest proportion of missionaries in the world. As I’ve mentioned before, it is a growth market for Christianity. How did it become so popular in a traditionally Confucian or Buddhist country? It’s growth has its origins in the aftermath of the Korean War. I use the term ‘aftermath’ loosely because, technically, the war is not over – there is only a truce. After the cessation of hostilities, the U.S. military stuck around to keep North Korea in check. With American soldiers on the ground, Christianity was able to spread. This should come as no surprise. Religion has often followed armies around and spread with empires. Christianity spread throughout the Roman empire and expanded with it. The pace accelerated after Constantine’s army, reputedly ordered to display the Christian logo on their shields, were victorious at Milvian Bridge and he took control of the empire.

Faith and the sword became partners again in the medieval age when Christendom responded to the spread of Islam with Crusades and Inquisitions. I’m no expert on the subject, but I suspect this may also be when the death sentence for leaving Islam may have been introduced. If you think you have problems today, consider yourself lucky that you weren’t a Moor given a choice between “Convert or die” and “Convert and die”.

Missionaries came to the New World, protected by European soldiers, to convert the indigenous populations. The results were often disastrous. From the New World the faith has spread to Asia. So many souls to convert and save. So many donations to collect. The temptation is too great to ignore.

It’s not enough to keep the faith and live by the word. They have to spread them.